The book's checklist
- Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 7.4% below the U.S. average in the Fort Wayne metro area.
- More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.2 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
- A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Leo-Cedarville itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
- Schools in town2 public schools: 1 middle and 1 high school.
- A hospital close byParkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
- Within reach of a big cityIndianapolis is about 116 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.
A check means Leo-Cedarville meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.
For a lifetime
Homes and money
- Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
- $370,100U.S.: $332,700
- Home prices since then
- Up 26%Allen County, 2022 to 2025
- Typical household income
- $116,375U.S.: $80,734
- Homes owned by the people living in them
- 98%U.S.: 65%
- Typical property tax bill
- $2,385 a yearIndiana: $1,614
- Homes built before 1940
- 7%U.S.: 12%
- Homes built since 2010
- 12%U.S.: 11%
- Vacation and seasonal homes
- 0%U.S.: 3%
- Everyday prices
- 92.6U.S. average = 100 (the Fort Wayne metro area)
Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Fort Wayne metro area, not Leo-Cedarville alone. Check current listings before you budget.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.
The people
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,7902020: 3,637
- Median age
- 33.6 yearsU.S.: 38.9
- Age 65 and older
- 11%U.S.: 17%
- Under 18
- 31%U.S.: 22%
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
- 41%U.S.: 36%
- Moved here from another county or state in the past year
- 6%U.S.: 6%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Work
- Biggest lines of work
- Schools, health care and social services (30%); manufacturing (26%); construction (8%)
- Unemployment rate
- 2%U.S.: 5%
- Average commute
- 23 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
- Work from home
- 11%U.S.: 15%
- Below the poverty line
- 0%U.S.: 12%
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Health care
Nearest emergency room: Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne, IN, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.
Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.
Schools
2 public schools in Leo-Cedarville, run by East Allen County Schools.
See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Indiana's school report card.
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.
Internet
- Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
- 80%U.S.: 76%
Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Weather
- January average low
- 16°F
- July average high
- 81°F
- Days 90°F or hotter
- 11 a year
- Nights at or below freezing
- 129 a year
- Rain and melted snow
- 39.5 inches a year
- Snow
- 36 inches a year
- Elevation
- 802 feet
Weather station: Garrett 1 S (9 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.
Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.
Getting around
Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Parkview Regional Medical Center, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis.
Allen County is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).
For a day
Read about Leo-Cedarville's history on Wikipedia.
Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.
Nearby
Straight-line miles.
Small towns
- Grabill, IN1,200 people, 3 miles
- Huntertown, IN11,600 people, 7 miles
- Auburn, IN14,100 people, 10 miles
- New Haven, IN16,300 people, 11 miles
- Garrett, IN6,700 people, 11 miles
- Woodburn, IN1,600 people, 11 miles
Smaller places
- Harlan, IN (unincorporated)1,254 people, 5 miles
- Spencerville, IN (unincorporated)244 people, 6 miles
- St. Joe, IN429 people, 9 miles
- Laotto, IN (unincorporated)220 people, 10 miles
- Altona, IN220 people, 11 miles
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
- Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
- National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
- National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
- U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
- National Park Service, park unit boundaries
- USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas
Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.